Running control device mounted in a vehicle

ABSTRACT

When the vehicle is running in a low speed condition, a vehicle-mounted running control device performs vehicle control of a normal mode without performing of traffic jam control of the vehicle, if it is discriminated that the vehicle will change a running course thereof on the basis of road information of a scheduled vehicle running course obtained from a navigation system, and performs the traffic jam control with the vehicle being discriminated as in the traffic jam condition, if it is discriminated that the vehicle will not change the running course thereof.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a running control device mounted in avehicle for controlling a vehicle by using a navigation system, and morespecifically relates to a running control device in which a requiredlarge driving force can be obtained without a performance for a trafficjam control such as reduction of an output of an engine of the vehiclewhen the vehicle changes the direction like turning right or left, orwhen the vehicle accelerates after passing through an intersection or atollgate.

2. Description of the Prior Art

FIG. 4 illustrates a block diagram for showing a central control unit ofa conventional vehicle, and FIG. 5 is a block diagram for showing ageneral navigation controlling unit.

In FIG. 4, a reference numeral 101 denotes a central control unit forcontrolling information of each control unit totally, such as an enginecontrolling unit 102 for controlling an engine of a vehicle, atransmission controlling unit 103 for controlling a transmission of thevehicle, and so on. In FIG. 5, a reference numeral 104 denotes anavigation system controlling unit for controlling navigation of thevehicle, and a reference numeral 105 shows a memory unit for storing mapinformation. A reference numeral 106 denotes a course determining unit,having road information of an estimated running course, for processinginformation of a destination of the vehicle, a destination of thevehicle or the like so as to determining a scheduled running course ofthe vehicle, and a reference numeral 107 illustrates a positiondetecting unit for measuring a present position of the vehicle. Areference numeral 108 shows a display unit for displaying mapinformation, a present position of the vehicle, and a scheduled coursefor the vehicle, and a reference numeral 109 denotes a voice messageinforming unit for informing a voice message of the present position ofthe vehicle or a running direction at an intersection of a road.

Generally, as shown in FIG. 4, a vehicle includes several sensors (notshown), and the engine controlling unit 102, the transmissioncontrolling unit 103 and so on. The vehicle controls an engine, atransmission, a suspension, a steering device, an air conditioningsystem, a lighting device and so on for example based on results ofprocessing information from the controlling units.

The controlling units are sometimes managed individually. However, thecentral controlling unit 101 generally manages the engine controllingunit 102, the transmission controlling unit 103 and so on totally whilethe central controlling unit 101 refers to and relates information ofthe controlling units.

In addition, recently, there has been developed an apparatus called anavigation system having a structure shown in FIG. 5 for detecting thepresent position by using signals from an artificial satellite or asensor. In this conventional navigation system, a starting point, adestination of a vehicle and a plan of running course can be instructedon the basis of the processing results by the course determining unit106, the position detecting unit and so on. The course determining unit106 calculates a scheduled course by using a map information previouslyregistered in the memory unit 105 in addition to the starting point, thedestination of a vehicle and the plan of running course. The vehicle canbe navigated by the information of the present position of the vehicle,a course direction at an intersection and the like displayed on thedisplaying unit 108, or outputted from the voice massage informing unit109.

As a conventional example utilizing the above-mentioned vehicle sensorsand controlling units, for instance, there is known as a traffic jamdetecting apparatus described in JP-A 63/172397. In this conventionaltraffic jam detecting apparatus, an output value from a vehicle speedsensor is calculated, and the calculated result and a predeterminedvalue which is previously determined are compared, then a traffic jam isdetermined when the calculated result indicates low speed running in thepredetermined speed. A vehicle height adjusting device, suspensions, anautomatic transmission device and an engine are controlled on the basisof the determination.

In addition, as another conventional traffic jam detecting apparatus fordetecting a traffic jam by utilizing an output from a vehicle speedsensor, for instance, there are JP-A 59/200845, JP-A 59/200846, JP-A59/200847.

Next, as a conventional example for controlling a vehicle on the basisof information from a navigation system, for instance, there is known asa hybrid-type vehicle described in JP-A 6/187595. In this conventionalhybrid-type vehicle, accuracy of information for navigating the vehicleis improved by adding information of the road in which the vehiclerunning presently to map information of the navigation system,simultaneously a driving source (engine and motor, specifically) inaccordance with a running position is switched so that the drivingsource adapts to a condition where various different peripheralenvironments at the same point exist such as a condition at a multilevelcrossing or the like.

In the above-described conventional traffic jam detecting apparatus, ifthe speed of running vehicle becomes smaller than a standard value whichis predetermined and into a slow speed condition, and the vehicle runsin the slow speed condition for a certain while, the apparatusdetermines a traffic jam condition. Thus, since the vehicle runs in thelow speed lower than a predetermined speed when the vehicle changes thecourse such as turning right or left, or when the vehicle approachesnear an intersection or a tollgate, the apparatus determines that thevehicle is in the traffic jam condition, whereby a traffic jam controlis performed such that the output from the engine is reduced. As aresult, there is a problem that a required driving force cannot beobtained, although a large driving force is required when the vehiclechanges the course such that the vehicle turns right or left, or whenthe vehicle passes through an intersection or a tollgate.

Furthermore, in the above-described conventional navigation system,there is no means for canceling the traffic jam control when the vehiclechanges the course direction such that the vehicle turns right or leftwhile the vehicle runs in a traffic jam condition control or when thevehicle approaches near a tollgate while the vehicle runs in a trafficjam condition control. As a result, there is a problem that a requireddriving force is lacked, because the traffic jam control can not becanceled although the traffic jam control should be canceled in order toobtain a large driving force when the vehicle changes the course or whenthe vehicle passes through an intersection or a tollgate.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to provide a running controldevice mounted in a vehicle in which a required large driving force canbe obtained, when the vehicle changes the course such that the vehicleturns right or left, or when the vehicle accelerates on passing throughan intersection or a tollgate, by determining a non-jam condition so asnot to perform the traffic jam control of the vehicle, even if thevehicle is running in a slow speed for a certain while.

In addition, another object of the present invention is to provide arunning control device mounted in a vehicle in which a required largedriving force can be obtained, when the vehicle changes the course suchthat the vehicle turns right or left, or when the vehicle accelerates onpassing through an intersection or a tollgate, by canceling a trafficjam control even if the vehicle is running in a slow speed for a certainwhile.

According to the present invention, there can be provided a runningcontrol device mounted in a vehicle comprising: a navigation systemcontrolling unit for controlling a memory unit for storing mapinformation including position information of a vehicle, a positiondetecting unit for detecting a present position of the vehicle, a coursedetermining unit having road information of a scheduled running courseof the vehicle, for determining an scheduled running course of thevehicle, a display unit for displaying map information, a presentposition and an scheduled running course of the vehicle, a voice messageinforming unit for outputting a voice message; and position informationcalculating means for calculating position information of a presentposition of the vehicle by adding position information detected from theposition detecting unit on map information read out from the memoryunit; a central control unit for managing as a whole a plurality ofcontrol units provided to the vehicle, on the basis of information of aplurality of sensors provided to the vehicle; and a terminal deviceconnected to the navigation system controlling unit and the centralcontrol unit, for transmitting information to at least one of thenavigation system controlling unit and the central control unit, withinformation from both of the navigation system controlling unit and thecentral control unit being processed, wherein the terminal deviceincludes: moving distance calculating means for calculating a movingdistance of the vehicle in a certain time interval on the basis ofposition information at a present vehicle position transmitted from thenavigation system controlling unit and position information at a presentvehicle position after the certain time interval; low speed conditiondetermining means for determining whether or not the calculated vehiclemoving distance is a predetermined value or below, and whether or notthe vehicle is in a low speed condition; running course determiningmeans for determining whether or not the vehicle will change a runningcourse in future on the basis of road information of a scheduled vehiclerunning course transmitted from the navigation system controlling unit,when the low speed condition determining means determines that thevehicle is in a low speed condition; and traffic jam determining meansfor determining that the vehicle is not in a traffic jam condition whenthe running course determining means determines that the vehicle willchange a running course in future, and for determining that the vehicleis in a traffic jam condition when the running course determining meansdetermines that the vehicle will not change a running course in future.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, theterminal device is constructed to include, instead of the running coursedetermining means, intersection/tollgate determining means fordetermining whether or not a present position of the vehicle reachednear one of an intersection and a tollgate on the basis of scheduledvehicle running course road information transmitted from the navigationsystem controlling unit when the low speed condition determining meansdetermines that the vehicle is in a low speed condition, and the trafficjam determining means for determining that the vehicle is not in atraffic jam condition when the intersection/tollgate determining meansdetermines that the vehicle present position reached near one of anintersection and a tollgate, and determines that the vehicle is in atraffic jam condition when the intersection/tollgate determining meansdetermines that the vehicle present position does not reach near one ofan intersection and a tollgate.

Further, in accordance with another preferred embodiment of the presentinvention, the terminal device includes running course determining meansand intersection/tollgate determining means. The traffic jam determiningmeans determines that the vehicle is not in a traffic jam condition whenthe running course determining means determines that the vehicle willnot change a running course in future and when the intersection/tollgatedetermining means determines that the vehicle present position reachednear the intersection or the tollgate, and determines that the vehicleis in a the traffic jam condition when the running course determiningmeans determines that the vehicle will not change a running course infuture and if the intersection/tollgate determining means determinesthat the vehicle present position does not reach near the intersectionor the tollgate.

In accordance with further preferred embodiment of the presentinvention, the terminal device further includes traffic jam controlinformation forming means for forming traffic jam control informationfor reducing an output from an engine to lessen fuel consumption, whenthe traffic jam determining means determines that the vehicle is in thetraffic jam condition, and the central control unit instructs to anengine controlling unit, to perform a traffic jam control which is toreduce the output from the engine on the basis of traffic jam controlinformation transmitted from the terminal device.

In accordance with further preferred embodiment of the presentinvention, the terminal device further includes engine output controlinformation forming means for forming engine output control informationfor keeping a normal idle condition, when the traffic jam determiningmeans determines that the vehicle is not in a traffic jam condition, andthe central control unit instructs to an engine controlling unit, tokeep the normal idle condition on the basis of engine output controlinformation transmitted from the terminal device.

In accordance with further preferred embodiment of the presentinvention, the terminal device further includes traffic control cancelinformation forming means for forming traffic control cancel informationfor canceling a traffic control when the intersection/tollgatedetermining means determines that the vehicle present position reachednear one of an intersection and a tollgate after the running coursedetermining means determines that the vehicle will not change a runningcourse in future, after the low speed condition determining meansdetermines that a vehicle moving distance calculated by the movingdistance calculating means is a predetermined value or below and thevehicle is in the low speed condition, when the engine controlling unitperforms the traffic jam control so as to reduce the output from theengine on the basis of traffic jam controlling information transmittedfrom the terminal device, and the central control unit instructs to theengine controlling unit to cancel the traffic control on the basis oftraffic control canceling information transmitted from the terminaldevice.

In accordance with further preferred embodiment of the presentinvention, the low speed condition determining means may determinewhether or not a vehicle moving distance calculated by the movingdistance calculating means assumes a predetermined value or abovethereby the vehicle condition is changed from the low speed conditioninto a no-low speed condition, when the engine controlling unit performsthe traffic jam control so as to reduce the output of the engine on thebasis of traffic jam controlling information transmitted from theterminal device, and the terminal device may further include trafficcontrol cancel information forming means for forming traffic controlcancel information for canceling a traffic control when the low speedcondition determining means determines that the vehicle is not in thelow speed condition, and the central control unit may instruct to theengine controlling unit to cancel the traffic control on the basis oftraffic control canceling information transmitted from the terminaldevice.

The terminal device further includes traffic control cancel informationforming means for forming traffic control cancel information forcanceling a traffic control when the running course determining meansdetermines that the vehicle will change a running course in future,after the low speed condition determining means determines that avehicle moving distance calculated by the moving distance calculatingmeans is a predetermined value or below and the vehicle is in a lowspeed condition, when the engine controlling unit performs the trafficjam control so as to reduce the output from the engine on the basis oftraffic jam controlling information transmitted from the terminaldevice, and the central control unit instructs to the engine controllingunit to cancel the traffic control on the basis of traffic controlcanceling information transmitted from the terminal device.

Further, in accordance with another preferred embodiment of the presentinvention, the terminal device further includes a driving power sourceselecting means for selecting one of an engine driving power source anda motor driving power source, on the basis of existence of a vehicletraffic jam condition determined by the traffic jam conditiondetermining means, as a driving source of a hybrid type vehicle havingthe engine power source and the motor driving power source, and thecentral control unit instructs to a driving power source controllingunit provided as one control unit for the hybrid type vehicle so as toset a driving power source as the motor driving power source on thebasis of driving power source information, transmitted from the terminaldevice, of the hybrid type vehicle, when the traffic jam determiningmeans determines that the vehicle is in a traffic jam condition.Moreover, the central control unit instructs to a driving power sourcecontrolling unit provided as one control unit for the hybrid typevehicle so as to set a driving power source as the engine driving powersource on the basis of driving power source information, transmittedfrom the terminal device, of the hybrid type vehicle, when the trafficjam determining means determines that the vehicle is not in a trafficjam condition.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparentfrom the following description of the preferred embodiments of thepresent invention as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram for showing a structure of a running controldevice mounted in a vehicle according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart for showing a processing flow of a terminal deviceof the running control device which is shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram for showing a structure of a running controldevice mounted in a vehicle according to another embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram for showing a central control unit of aconventional vehicle.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram for showing a navigation controlling unit.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

An embodiment of the present invention will be described with referenceto figures hereinbelow.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram for showing a structure of a running controldevice mounted in a vehicle according to an embodiment of the presentinvention. In FIG. 1, a reference numeral 1 denotes a central controlunit for totally controlling information of control units such as anengine controlling unit 2 for controlling an engine of a vehicle, atransmission controlling unit 3 for controlling a transmission of thevehicle, and so on. The engine controlling unit 2 and the transmissioncontrolling unit 3 which are described here are representative examplesof control units which are managed by the central control unit 1. Areference numeral 4 denotes a navigation system controlling unit fornavigating the vehicle, and a reference numeral 5 denotes a memory unitfor storing map information including a position information of thevehicle. A reference numeral 6 denotes a course determining unit havingroad information of a scheduled running course, for processinginformation including destination and indicated course so as todetermine an future running course of the vehicle, and a referencenumeral 7 denotes a position detecting unit for measuring a presentposition of the vehicle based on information from an artificialsatellite or a sensor.

A reference numeral 8 denotes a display unit for displaying mapinformation, a present position of the vehicle, a scheduled course ofthe vehicle, traffic jam information and so on to inform them to adriver, a reference numeral 9 denotes a voice message informing unit forinforming a voice message to the driver, and a reference numeral 10denotes a terminal device which is connected to the central control unit1 and the navigation system controlling unit 4 of the vehicle, forcalculating by using information from the central control unit 1 and thenavigation system, and properly transmitting information to the centralcontrol unit 1 and the navigation system controlling unit 4.

The terminal device 10 collects the information from the central controlunit 1 and the navigation system controlling unit 4 to calculate, andproperly transmits the result of the calculation to the central controlunit 1 and the navigation system controlling unit 4. At this time, thecentral control unit 1 performs information exchange with the terminaldevice 10, while the central control unit 1 totally manages thecontrolling unit such as the engine controlling unit 2, the transmissioncontrolling unit 3, and so on. The navigation system controlling unit 4also performs information exchange with the terminal device 10. Thenavigation system 4 instructs to each unit of the navigation system tomeasure the present vehicle position, to match between the presentvehicle position information which is measured and map information, todetermine the optimum course,. and so on.

First of all, the terminal device 10 demands position information of apresent vehicle position to the navigation system controlling unit 4 byevery certain time. The navigation system controlling unit 4 transmitsinformation of the present vehicle position which is calculatedpreviously on the basis both of map information stored in the memoryunit 5 and present vehicle position information which is detected at theposition detecting unit 7 to the terminal, device 10 by every certaintime. The position information from the navigation system controllingunit 4 includes information detected by the position detecting unit 7and map information read out from the memory unit 5. Here, this positioninformation is stored at the memory unit 5 after calculation, and isread out from the memory unit 5 and transmitted to the terminal device10 . The vehicle position information detected at the position detectingunit 7 is obtained from the artificial satellite or the sensor. In thememory unit 5, the map information and information of latitude,longitude, height above sea level, and attribute are stored as positioninformation. In the memory unit 5, information of latitude, longitude,height above sea level, and attribute are stored with corresponding mapinformation. For example, the information is stored such that longitudeis 139 degrees 45 minutes east, latitude is 35 degrees 40 minutes north,height above sea level is 10 m, and attribute is a general road. thereare a general road, a general road and intersection, an express highway,an express highway and tollgate, and so on as attributes.

Next, when the terminal device 10 obtains the position information ofthe present vehicle position from the navigation system controlling unit4 by every certain time in a step S1, the moving distance of the vehiclein the certain time is calculated based on the position information ofthe present vehicle position at a time t1 and the position informationof the present vehicle position at a time t2 after the certain time in astep S2. The terminal device 10 determines whether or not the vehicle isin a low speed condition, by judging whether or not the calculatedvehicle moving distance is the predetermined value or below in a stepS3. Here, if the vehicle speed is determined as in the low speedcondition, road information of a scheduled vehicle running coursetransmitted from the navigation system controlling unit 4 is obtained ata step S4. In the step S3, if the vehicle speed is determined as inno-low speed condition because the vehicle moving distance calculated atthe terminal device 10 is lager than the predetermined values theterminal device 10 instructs the central control unit 1 to control witha normal mode. Then the flow returns to the step S1.

The terminal device 10 determines whether or not the vehicle changes thecourse direction in future on the basis of the road information on thescheduled vehicle running course which is obtained from the navigationsystem controlling unit 4 in a step S5. If the terminal device 10determines that the vehicle changes the course direction in future, theterminal device 10 decides that a traffic jam does not occur even whenthe vehicle runs in a low speed, generates information for controllingan engine output for keeping an idle condition in the normal mode andtransmits the information to the central control unit 1. The centralcontrol unit 1 instructs the engine controlling unit 2 so as to keep theidle condition of the normal mode on the basis of the information forcontrolling the engine output which is transmitted from the terminaldevice 10. Then the flow returns to the step S1.

When the terminal device 10 determines that the vehicle will not changethe course direction in future at the step S5, the terminal device 10inputs road information regarding the scheduled running course of thevehicle which is transmitted from the navigation system controlling unit4 at a step S6. Next, the terminal device 10 determines whether or notthe present position of the vehicle reaches near an intersection or atollgate on the basis of the information of the scheduled running courseinputted from the navigation system controlling unit 4 at a step S7. Ifthe terminal device 10 determines that the present vehicle positionreached near the intersection or the tollgate, the terminal device 10decides that a traffic jam does not occur even when the vehicle runs ina low speed, generates information for controlling an engine output forkeeping an idle condition in the normal mode and transmits theinformation to the central control unit 1. The central control unit 1instructs the engine controlling unit 2 so as to keep the idle conditionof the normal mode on the basis of the information for controlling theengine output which is transmitted from the terminal device 10. Then theflow returns to the step Si.

The terminal device 10 decides that the vehicle is in a traffic jamcondition, if the terminal device 10 determined that the present vehicleposition did not reach near the intersection or the tollgate on thebasis of the road information of the scheduled running course at thestep S7. If the terminal device 10 decides that the vehicle is in atraffic jam condition, the terminal device 10 generates the informationfor controlling the traffic jam condition to reduce the output from theengine, and transmits the information to the central control unit 1 at astep S8. Then the central control unit 1 instructs to reduce the outputof the engine to the engine controlling unit 2 on the basis of thetraffic jam controlling information which is transmitted form theterminal device 10. The engine controlling unit 2 performs the trafficjam condition control so as to reduce the output of the engine. Then theflow returns to the step S1.

When the engine controlling unit 2 performs the traffic jam control soas to reduce the output from the engine on the basis of the traffic jamcontrolling information transmitted from the terminal device 10, if theterminal device 10 detects that a calculated moving distance of thevehicle becomes larger than the predetermined value, and the vehiclespeed changes the low speed into no-low speed (the steps S1 to S3), theterminal device 10 generates traffic jam control canceling informationfor canceling the traffic jam control and transmits the information tothe central control unit 1. The central control unit 1 instructs to theengine controlling unit 2 to cancel the traffic jam control on the basisof the traffic jam controlling information transmitted from the terminaldevice 10. Then the flow returns to the step S1.

When the engine controlling unit 2 performs the traffic jam control soas to reduce the output from the engine on the basis of the traffic jamcontrolling information transmitted from the terminal device 10, theterminal device 10 determines that the vehicle changes the coursedirection in future on the basis of road information of the scheduledrunning course obtained from the navigation system controlling unit 4(the steps S4 and S5) after the terminal device 10 determines that acalculated moving distance of the vehicle is the predetermined value orbelow, and the vehicle is in a low speed condition (the steps S1 to S3),the terminal device 10 generates traffic jam control cancelinginformation for canceling the traffic jam control. The central controlunit 1 instructs to the engine controlling unit 2 to cancel the trafficjam control on the basis of the traffic jam controlling informationtransmitted from the terminal device 10. Then the flow returns to thestep Si.

When the engine controlling unit 2 performs the traffic jam control soas to reduce the output from the engine on the basis of the traffic jamcontrolling information which is transmitted from the terminal device10, a calculated moving distance of the vehicle is the predeterminedvalue or below, and if the vehicle is determined as in a low speedcondition (the steps S1 to S3), then, after the determining that thevehicle will not change the course direction in future on the basis ofroad information of the scheduled vehicle running course which isobtained from the central control unit 1 (the step 5), it is determinedthat the present vehicle position reached near the intersection or thetollgate (the step S7), the terminal device 10 forms traffic jam controlcanceling information for canceling the traffic jam control. The centralcontrol unit 1 instructs to the engine controlling unit 2 to cancel thetraffic jam control on the basis of the traffic jam controllinginformation which is transmitted from the terminal device 10. Then theflow returns to the step S1.

Since the present embodiment has a structure that, after the vehicle isin the low speed condition, when the vehicle changes the coursedirection such as turning right or left, or when the vehicle reachesnear the intersection or tollgate, it is determined that the vehicle isnot in traffic jam condition to control the vehicle with the normalmode, the traffic jam control is not performed when the vehicle changesthe course direction such as turning right or left and when the vehiclepasses through the intersection or the tollgate, whereby a requiredlarge driving force can be obtained easily in such case.

Since the running control device according to the present embodimentstops traffic jam control in case the condition of the vehicle speed ischanged to fast condition, i.e. no-low speed condition from the lowspeed condition, the vehicle will change the course direction such thatit turns right or left in future, or the vehicle reaches theintersection or the tollgate even when the running control devicecarries out traffic jam control, the traffic jam condition can beefficiently canceled. In addition, when the vehicle changes the coursedirection such that it turns right or left, or when the vehicleaccelerates on passing through the intersection or the tollgate, thevehicle can be controlled with the normal mode, whereby the vehicle canrun with an enough driving force without lack of the driving force.

It is described in the present embodiment that the running controldevice carries out the traffic jam control of the vehicle after therunning control device decides on the basis of the road information ofthe scheduled running course the vehicle reaches near the intersectionor the tollgate, and the running control device does not carry out thetraffic jam control of the vehicle immediately when the running controldevice determines on the basis of the road information of the scheduledrunning course that the vehicle will not change the course direction infuture.

However, the present invention is not limited to only such anembodiment. For example, the running control device can determine thatthe vehicle in a traffic jam and carry out the traffic jam control ofthe vehicle immediately when the running control device determines onthe basis of the road information of the scheduled running course thatthe vehicle will not change the course direction in future. In thiscase, if the running control device does not determine that the trafficjam occurs merely because the vehicle becomes to be in a low speedcondition, and determines that the traffic jam occurs because thevehicle changes the running direction even when the vehicle is in a lowspeed condition, a required large driving force can be obtained when thevehicle changes the running direction in a low speed condition.

It is described in the present embodiment that the running controldevice carries out the traffic jam control of the vehicle after judgingthe vehicle will not change the running course on the basis of the roadinformation of the scheduled running course before the running controldevice determines whether the vehicle reaches near the intersection orthe tollgate or not on the basis of the road information of thescheduled running course.

However, the present invention is not limited to only such anembodiment. For example, the running control device can decide that thevehicle is in a traffic jam and carry out the traffic jam control of thevehicle immediately when the running control device determines on thebasis of the road information of the scheduled running course that thevehicle does not reach near the intersection or the tollgate after therunning control device determines that the vehicle is in a low speedcondition while the running control device does not determine whetherthe vehicle will change the running course. In this case, if the runningcontrol device does not determine that the traffic jam occurs merelybecause the vehicle becomes to be in a low speed condition, anddetermines that the traffic jam occurs because the vehicle reaches nearthe intersection or the tollgate even when the vehicle is in a low speedcondition, a required large driving force can be obtained when thevehicle accelerates after passing through the intersection or thetollgate.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram for showing a structure of a running controldevice mounted in a vehicle according to another embodiment of thepresent invention. In FIG. 3, the same reference numerals which areillustrated in FIG. 1 show the same structural elements as of theabove-described embodiment, and a reference numeral 2a denotes a drivingpower source controlling unit.

Although in the above-mentioned embodiment it is described that aswitching control between the traffic jam control mode and the normalmode is performed by the engine controlling unit 2, the presentinvention is not limited to only the embodiment. The present inventioncan be applied to a control of the driving power source controlling unit2a which is to be mounted on a hybrid type vehicle having an enginedriving power source and a motor driving power source.

The terminal device 10 has a function for selecting one of the enginedriving power source or the motor driving power source, as a drivingpower source for the hybrid type vehicle on the basis of existence ofthe vehicle traffic jam condition which is determined by using the sameway as of the above-mentioned embodiment shown in FIG. 2. The centralcontrol unit 1 instructs, as shown in FIG. 3, to the driving powercontrolling unit 2a of the hybrid type vehicle so as to set the drivingpower source as the motor driving power source on the basis of drivingpower source information, transmitted from the terminal device 10, ofthe hybrid type vehicle, in case that the terminal device 10 determinesthat the vehicle is in the traffic jam condition. In this case, thetraffic jam control can be efficiently performed because the traffic jamcontrol is carried out by the motor driving power source.

In addition, the central control unit 1 instructs to the driving powersource controlling unit 2a of the hybrid type vehicle so as to set thedriving power source as the engine driving power source on the basis ofdriving power source information, transmitted from the terminal device10, of the hybrid type vehicle, in case that the terminal device 10determines that the vehicle is not in the traffic jam condition. In thiscase, efficient running can be performed if the engine driving powersource when controlling with the normal mode without the traffic jamcontrol performance is selected.

What is claimed is:
 1. A control device mounted in a vehiclecomprising:a navigation system controlling unit for controllinga memoryunit for storing map information including position information of avehicle, a position detecting unit for detecting a present position ofthe vehicle, a course determining unit having road information of ascheduled running course of the vehicle for determining an estimatedrunning course of the vehicle wherein the road information includeslocation of known impediments on the road, a display unit for displayingmap information, a present position and a scheduled running course ofthe vehicle, and a voice message informing unit for outputting a voicemessage; wherein the navigation system controlling unit includesposition information calculating means for calculating and outputtingposition information of a present position of the vehicle on the basisboth of position information detected from said position detecting unitand map information read out from said memory unit; a central controlunit for totally managing a plurality of control units provided to thevehicle, on the basis of information of a plurality of sensors mountedin the vehicle; and a terminal device connected to said navigationsystem controlling unit and said central control unit, for processinginformation from both of said navigation system controlling unit andsaid central control unit, and transmitting information to at least oneof said navigation system controlling unit and said central controlunit; wherein said terminal device includes:moving distance calculatingmeans for calculating a moving distance of the vehicle in a certain timeinterval on the basis of position information at a present vehicleposition transmitted from said navigation system controlling unit andposition information at a present vehicle position after said certaintime interval; low speed condition determining means for decidingwhether or not the vehicle is in a low speed condition by determiningwhether or not calculated vehicle moving distance is a predeterminedvalue or below; running course determining means for determining on thebasis of road information of a scheduled vehicle running coursetransmitted from said navigation system controlling unit whether or notthe vehicle will change a running course in future, when said low speedcondition determining means determines that the vehicle is in a lowspeed condition; and traffic jam determining means for determining thatthe vehicle is not in a traffic jam condition when said running coursedetermining means determines that the vehicle will change a runningcourse in future, and determining that the vehicle is in a traffic jamcondition when said running course determining means determines that thevehicle will not change a running course in future.
 2. A running controldevice mounted in a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein said terminaldevice further includes traffic jam control information forming meansfor forming traffic jam control information for reducing an output froman engine to lessen fuel consumption, in case said traffic jamdetermining means determines that the vehicle is in a traffic jamcondition, andwherein said central control unit instructs to an enginecontrolling unit provided as one of said plural control units, toperform a traffic jam control which is to reduce output of said engineon the basis of traffic jam control information transmitted from saidterminal device.
 3. A running control device mounted in a vehicleaccording to claim 1, wherein said terminal device further includesengine output control information forming means for forming engineoutput control information for keeping a normal idle condition, in casesaid traffic jam determining means determines that the vehicle is not ina traffic jam condition, andwherein said central control unit instructsto an engine controlling unit provided as one of said plural controlunits, to keep said normal idle condition on the basis of engine outputcontrol information transmitted from said terminal device.
 4. A runningcontrol device mounted in a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein saidterminal device further includes intersection/tollgate determining meansfor determining whether or not a present position of the vehicle reachednear one of an intersection and a tollgate on the basis of scheduledvehicle running course road information transmitted from said navigationsystem controlling unit after said running course determining meansdetermines that the vehicle will not change a running course in future,andwherein said traffic jam determining means determines that thevehicle is not in a traffic jam condition in case said running coursedetermining means determines that the vehicle will not change a runningcourse and said intersection/tollgate determining means determines thatthe vehicle present position reached near one of an intersection and atollgate, and determines that the vehicle is in a traffic jam conditionin case said intersection/tollgate determining means determines that thevehicle present position does not reach near one of an intersection anda tollgate and the vehicle will not change a running course in future.5. A running control device mounted in a vehicle according to claim 4,wherein said terminal device further includes traffic control cancelinformation forming means for forming traffic control cancel informationfor canceling a traffic control in case said intersection/tollgatedetermining means determines that the vehicle present position reachednear one of an intersection and a tollgate after said running coursedetermining means determines that the vehicle will not change a runningcourse in future, after said low speed condition determining meansdetermines that a vehicle moving distance calculated by said movingdistance calculating means is a predetermined value or below and thevehicle is in said low speed condition, when said engine controllingunit provided as one of said plural control units performs said trafficjam control so as to reduce the output of said engine on the basis oftraffic jam controlling information transmitted from said terminaldevice, andwherein said central control unit instructs to said enginecontrolling unit to cancel said traffic control on the basis of trafficcontrol canceling information transmitted from said terminal device. 6.A running control device mounted in a vehicle according to claim 1,wherein said low speed condition determining means determines whether ornot a vehicle moving distance calculated by said moving distancecalculating means assumes a predetermined value or above thereby thevehicle condition is changed or not from said low speed condition into ano-low speed condition, when said engine controlling unit provided asone of said plural control units performs said traffic jam control so asto reduce said output from said engine on the basis of traffic jamcontrolling information transmitted from said terminal device,whereinsaid terminal device further includes traffic control cancel informationforming means for forming traffic control cancel information forcanceling a traffic control when said low speed condition determiningmeans determines that the vehicle is not in said low speed condition,and wherein said central control unit instructs to said enginecontrolling unit to cancel said traffic control on the basis of trafficcontrol canceling information transmitted from said terminal device. 7.A running control device mounted in a vehicle according to claim 1,wherein said terminal device further includes traffic control cancelinformation forming means for forming traffic control cancel informationfor canceling a traffic control in case said running course determiningmeans determines that the vehicle will change a running course infuture, after said low speed condition determining means determines thata vehicle moving distance calculated by said moving distance calculatingmeans is a predetermined value or below and the vehicle is in a lowspeed condition, when said engine controlling unit provided as one ofsaid plural control units performs said traffic jam control so as toreduce the output of said engine on the basis of traffic jam controllinginformation transmitted from said terminal device, andwherein saidcentral control unit instructs to said engine controlling unit to cancelsaid traffic control on the basis of traffic control cancelinginformation transmitted from said terminal device.
 8. A running controldevice mounted in a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein said terminaldevice further includes a driving power source selecting means forselecting one of an engine driving power source and a motor drivingpower source, on the basis of existence of a vehicle traffic jamcondition determined by said traffic jam condition determining means, asa driving source of a hybrid type vehicle having said engine powersource and said motor driving power source, andwherein said centralcontrol unit instructs to a driving power source controlling unitprovided as one control unit for said hybrid type vehicle so as to set adriving power source as said motor driving power source on the basis ofdriving power source information, transmitted from said terminal device,of said hybrid type vehicle, when said traffic jam determining meansdetermines that the vehicle is in a traffic jam condition.
 9. A runningcontrol device mounted in a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein saidterminal device further includes a driving power source selecting meansfor selecting one of an engine driving power source and a motor drivingpower source, on the basis of existence of a vehicle traffic jamcondition determined by said traffic jam condition determining means, asa driving source of a hybrid type vehicle having said engine powersource and said motor driving power source, andwherein said centralcontrol unit instructs to a driving power source controlling unitprovided as one control unit for said hybrid type vehicle so as to set adriving power source as said engine driving power source on the basis ofdriving power source information, transmitted from said terminal device,of said hybrid type vehicle, when said traffic jam determining meansdetermines that the vehicle is not in a traffic jam condition.
 10. Arunning control device mounted in a vehicle comprising:a navigationsystem controlling unit for controllinga memory unit for storing mapinformation including position information of a vehicle, a positiondetecting unit for detecting a present position of the vehicle, a coursedetermining unit having road information of a scheduled running courseof the vehicle for determining an estimated running course of thevehicle wherein the road information includes location of knownobstacles on the road, a display unit for displaying map information, apresent position and a scheduled running course of the vehicle, and avoice message informing unit for outputting a voice message; wherein thenavigation system controlling unit includes position informationcalculating means for calculating and outputting position information ofa present position of the vehicle on the basis both of positioninformation detected from said position detecting unit and mapinformation read out from said memory unit; a central control unit fortotally managing a plurality of control units provided to the vehicle,on the basis of information of a plurality of sensors mounted in thevehicle; and a terminal device connected to said navigation systemcontrolling unit and said central control unit, for processinginformation from both of said navigation system controlling unit andsaid central control unit, and transmitting information to at least oneof said navigation system controlling unit and said central controlunit; wherein said terminal device includes:moving distance calculatingmeans for calculating a moving distance of the vehicle in a certain timeinterval on the basis of position information at a present vehicleposition transmitted from said navigation system controlling unit andposition information at a present vehicle position after said certaintime interval; low speed condition determining means for decidingwhether or not the vehicle is in a low speed condition by determiningwhether or not calculated vehicle moving distance is a predeterminedvalue or below; intersection/tollgate determining means for determiningthat a present vehicle position reached near one of an intersection anda tollgate on the basis of road information of a scheduled vehiclerunning course transmitted from said navigation system controlling unit,when said low speed condition determining means determines that thevehicle is in a low speed condition; and traffic jam conditiondetermining means for determining that the vehicle is not in a trafficjam condition when said intersection/tollgate determining meansdetermines that a vehicle present position reached near one of saidintersection and said tollgate, and for determining that the vehicle isin a traffic jam condition when said intersection/tollgate determiningmeans determines that a vehicle present position does not reach near oneof said intersection and said tollgate.
 11. A running control devicemounted in a vehicle according to claim 10, wherein said terminal devicefurther includes traffic jam control information forming means forforming traffic jam control information for reducing an output from anengine to lessen fuel consumption, in case said traffic jam determiningmeans determines that the vehicle is in a traffic jam condition,andwherein said central control unit instructs to an engine controllingunit provided as one of said plural control units, to perform a trafficjam control which is to reduce output of said engine on the basis oftraffic jam control information transmitted from said terminal device.12. A running control device mounted in a vehicle according to claim 10,wherein said terminal device further includes engine output controlinformation forming means for forming engine output control informationfor keeping a normal idle condition, in case said traffic jamdetermining means determines that the vehicle is not in a traffic jamcondition, andwherein said central control unit instructs to an enginecontrolling unit provided as one of said plural control units, to keepsaid normal idle condition on the basis of engine output controlinformation transmitted from said terminal device.
 13. A running controldevice mounted in a vehicle according to claim 10, wherein said lowspeed condition determining means determines whether or not a vehiclemoving distance calculated by said moving distance calculating meansassumes a predetermined value or above thereby the vehicle condition ischanged from said low speed condition into a no-low speed condition,when said engine controlling unit provided as one of said plural controlunits performs said traffic jam control so as to reduce said output fromsaid engine on the basis of traffic jam controlling informationtransmitted from said terminal device,wherein said terminal devicefurther includes traffic control cancel information forming means forforming traffic control cancel information for canceling a trafficcontrol when said low speed condition determining means determines thatthe vehicle is not in a low speed condition, and wherein said centralcontrol unit instructs to said engine controlling unit to cancel saidtraffic control on the basis of traffic control canceling informationtransmitted from said terminal device.
 14. A running control devicemounted in a vehicle according to claim 10, wherein said terminal devicefurther includes running course determining means for determiningwhether or not the vehicle will change a running course in future on thebasis of road information of a scheduled vehicle running coursetransmitted from said navigation system control unit when said low speedcondition determining means determines that the vehicle is in a lowspeed condition, and wherein said traffic jam determining meansdetermines that the vehicle is not in a traffic jam condition when saidrunning course determining means determines that the vehicle will notchange a running course in future and said intersection/tollgatedetermining means determines that the vehicle reaches near one of saidintersection and said tollgate, and determines that the vehicle is in atraffic jam condition when said running course determining meansdetermines that the vehicle will not change a running course in futureand said intersection/tollgate determining means determines that thevehicle does not reach near one of said intersection and said tollgate.15. A running control device mounted in a vehicle according to claim 14,wherein said terminal device further includes traffic control cancelinformation forming means for forming traffic control cancel informationfor canceling a traffic control when said running course determiningmeans determines that the vehicle will change a running course infuture, after said low speed condition determining means determines thata vehicle moving distance calculated by said moving distance calculatingmeans is a predetermined value or below and the vehicle is in a lowspeed condition, when said engine controlling unit provided as one ofsaid plural control units performs said traffic jam control so as toreduce said output from said engine on the basis of traffic jamcontrolling information transmitted from said terminal device,andwherein said central control unit instructs to said enginecontrolling unit to cancel said traffic control on the basis of trafficcontrol canceling information transmitted from said terminal device. 16.A running control device mounted in a vehicle according to claim 10,wherein said terminal device further includes a driving power sourceselecting means for selecting one of an engine driving power source anda motor driving power source, on the basis of existence of a vehicletraffic jam condition determined by said traffic jam conditiondetermining means, as a driving source of a hybrid type vehicle havingsaid engine power source and said motor driving power source, andwhereinsaid central control unit instructs to a driving power sourcecontrolling unit provided as one control unit for said hybrid typevehicle so as to set a driving power source as said motor driving powersource on the basis of driving power source information, transmittedfrom said terminal device, of said hybrid type vehicle, when saidtraffic jam determining means determines that the vehicle is in atraffic jam condition.
 17. A running control device mounted in a vehicleaccording to claim 10, wherein said terminal device further includes adriving power source selecting means for selecting one of an enginedriving power source and a motor driving power source, on the basis ofexistence of a vehicle traffic jam condition determined by said trafficjam condition determining means, as a driving source of a hybrid typevehicle having said engine power source and said motor driving powersource, andwherein said central control unit instructs to a drivingpower source controlling unit provided as one control unit for saidhybrid type vehicle so as to set a driving power source as said enginedriving power source on the basis of driving power source information,transmitted from said terminal device, of said hybrid type vehicle, whensaid traffic jam determining means determines that the vehicle is not ina traffic jam condition.
 18. The control device of claim 1 wherein saidknown impediments on the road comprises at least one of an intersectionand a tollbooth.
 19. The control device of claim 10 wherein said knownobstacles on the road comprises at least one of an intersection and atollbooth.